New members come, and say Hello
Plant a seed and watch it grow
Old Members why not share your news
We have loads more for you to choose
Guests your welcome to have a look
but why not sign up and then get hooked!
To All its a pleasure to have you with us

Note: New Members are expected to post within one Month of joining, and post on a fairly regular basis.

The introduction of a few rabbits could do little harm and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting.” So wrote Australian farmer Thomas Austin in 1859, shortly after he freed 24 grey rabbits to, well, do what rabbits do best. By the end of the century the rabbit population had exploded to the point where Australia’s native plants, animals, even the soil itself were on the brink of collapseBy 1950 the population was an estimated 600 million .

You’d think Australia would have learned a thing or two about introducing non-native species from the rabbit fiasco but noooo… at around the time myxomatosis virii were being tested as a way to control the rampant rabbits, cane toads were being freed into the sugar cane plantations of Queensland to control insect pests. By mid-1937 over 60,000 young toads had been released to eat insects – which they didn’t, because the sugar cane fields didn’t provide enough protection for the toads. Not that they needed it; cane toads excrete a potent toxin from their skin that usually kills any other creature that is ignorant enough to attack and eat them. Predators in the Americas (including southern Texas) have adapted to deal with the toads, those in Australia have not.

It would be wrong to underestimate cute, fluffy Eastern Grey Squirrels, isn’t that right, Australians? In this case the location is Great Britain and the victims are the smaller, cuter, native Red Squirrels who find they can’t compete with their larger, more aggressive North American cousins. The greys also carry a deadly virus that only affects the native reds. Various “save the squirrels” movements have sprung up in England and none other than HRH Prince Charles has come out vocally for the eradication of the pesky greys by any and all means.

Just thought I'd put those three examples up.

I think along with poaching, habitat loss is the biggest major factor to wildlife species loss all over thw worls, including the UK

WS

_________________If I can make somebody smile, my day has been worthwhile

I was going to put those on Lai. That Japanese knotweed is You need specialists to get rid of it, it's nearly impossible to kill, just the slightest trace left, and its back. It can bring down buildings.

WS

_________________If I can make somebody smile, my day has been worthwhile